BuddyTV has confirmed from a spokesperson from Supernatural that the show's director and executive producer Kim Manners passed away Sunday in Los Angeles due to complications from lung cancer.
Supernatural creator Eric Kripke released a statement saying, "Everyone at Supernatural is walking around in a daze, shocked and absolutely devastated. Kim was a brilliant director; more than that, he was a mentor and friend. He was one of the patriarchs of the family, and we miss him desperately. He gave so much to Supernatural, and everything we do on the show, now and forever, is in memory of him."

Many fans first learned the news from Supernatural star Jim Beaver's MySpace and Facebook pages early Monday morning. On his official MySpace page, it said “Jim is in mourning for one of the best friends and best directors he's ever known - Kim Manners, who died last night from lung cancer.”

When BuddyTV visited the set of Supernatural last summer, Jensen Ackles spoke about how well the cast and crew get along. Ackles mentioned Kim Manners, saying that he explain the feeling best when Manners said “We spend way too much time with each other not to enjoy each others' company.”

Manners got his start in television in the late 1970s as a production manager and director for Charlies' Angels. He worked steadily as a TV director through the ‘80s and ‘90s until joining The X-Files in 1995 as a producer. His work on that show helped earn him four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series.

On Supernatural, Kim Manners has served as an executive producer since the beginning and has become one of the most influential figures behind the scenes of the show. He directed 17 episodes, including every season finale, the season premieres for the last three years, and his final episode was this season's "Metamorphosis."

BuddyTV's deepest sympathies go out to the Manners family and everyone who works on Supernatural.